On the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh late Y S Rajasekhar Reddy today, Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy demanded that the BJP-led union government confer the highest civilian award of the country, the Bharat Ratna, on the former CM in recognition of his service to the Telugu people.
Stating that YSR had highlighted the greatness of the Telugu people to the world, Reddy asserted that the former CM was eligible for the Bharat Ratna as he had done much for the people of undivided AP during his time in office.
"YSR was the one who had laid the foundation for the Pranahita Chevella project, known now as the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project. Though Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had changed the name of the mega-project, the fact still remains that it was initiated during YSR's tenure as CM," he pointed out.
Terming YSR a "pro-Telangana" leader, the MLC said that the state would have turned into a drought-hit area without the efforts made by the former CM to improve irrigation infrastructure in the region, and claimed that many irrigation projects taken up by the AP government on the Krishna had been sanctioned during the former CM's rule.
Commenting on the
ongoing water feud between the two Telugu states, however, he asserted that the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project was initiated after the division of AP and that Telangana had every right to oppose the project.
TPCC head A Revanth Reddy and several other Congress leaders also paid tributes to YSR today.